Several weeks ago, Dionne Chingkoe posted an excellent blog entry, Transforming Social Finance from a Curiosity to a Movement. Dionne's advice on how to catalyze a movement amounted to a clear call to action for the SocialFinance.ca community.
A great debate on the Census is raging from coast to coast. We rarely experience such storied excitement, intrigue, and interest in public policy matters, from abrupt but principled resignations, to heroic acts to save swimmers from drowning, to headline news in the venerable New York Times. [It does seem oddly Canadian that we would shift our focus from "lakes and beer" to the Census.] We have decided to ride this wave of popularity to launch the first ever Social Finance Census.
There has been a great deal of recent discussion on impact investing: the zen-like space where investments have a financial return and demonstrated environmental or social impact. Some may tell you that these opportunities exist just beyond the misty mountains of Pandora, in the lush, green Shire where Frodo and Bilbo Baggins play hacky sack.
In response to some of these critics and to build literacy and understanding at a local level, we need to make impact investing a bit more tangible.
Impact investing opportunities are very real, with living, breathing models in place around the world. Accordingly, there is tremendous potential for local success through our social venture exchange project. We are currently exploring the how, but this may give a first glance of what is possible.
A special edition of the Making Waves magazine has been launched, titled "Capital for Communities". This edition explores the the central question of access to finance for community-based initiatives. Most nonprofits, social enterprises, and co-operatives identify capital as their key constraint, and when it is available, it if often not in the right form to meet the needs of these organizations. These organizations, and the respective sectors that they represent, continue to be undercapitalized related to the needs and pressures being placed on them, particularly in this economic environment.
This issue draws on perspectives from across the country in understanding and addressing the issue of access to finance. The articles range from a mapping of the financial ecosystem of the social economy, the challenges of financing social ventures, the importance of intermediaries, examples of how institutional investors can be engaged in social finance, and lessons from Quebec's experience with developing innovative social finance instruments. Collectively, these articles provide an excellent, multi-dimensional understanding of the key issues and opportunities around delivering more capital to communities.
This coordinator will be responsible for the overall management of the socialfinance.ca website. Key activities will include website management, content sourcing and management, partnerships, outreach and general website sustainability.
In addition to the site-related tasks, this person will also have responsibilities associated with supporting the work of Social Innovation Generation more broadly to advance social finance in Canada. This could include conducting social finance research to monitor trends, supporting social finance events, and producing communications that may be used outside of socialfinance.ca around the broader topics featured.
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Your Guide helps social entrepreneurs learn how to attract financing for their social ventures.
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Your Guide to Social Finance
SocialFinance.ca hosts an online guide that helps social entrepreneurs learn how to attract financing for their social ventures.
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